Events, Dear Boy - And How To Spin Them

Gordon Brown knows full well that between now and the next election a number of very ugly chickens will be coming home to roost. Indeed, a handful of the blighters turned up this summer. So in today’s speech we saw him give a first outing for his brazen strategy of trying to turn this to his advantage.

(a) portray Events as random externalities, sent to try us

(b) hide behind the heroics of neglected public services (Armed Forces, flood defences etc) as they pluckily get stuck in with whatever limited resources they’ve been given

(c) wrap self in flag (‘Britain’ and ‘British’ mentioned more than 70 times)

Conclusion: “Britain has been tested [read: I have been tested] and not found wanting”. An attack on Brown is an attack on us all.

This strategy is infinitely adaptable. An overworked RAF helicopter crashes in Iraq for want of spare parts? “We applaud the courage of our Armed Forces.” A new outbreak of teenage gun-killings on unpoliced council estates ? “We, the majority who deplore guns, congratulate ourselves for being horrified by this violence.” Etc etc, it’s quite easy when you see how it’s done - look at the first 15 minutes of his speech.

There is a pressing need for a counter-strategy, to make him acknowledge paternity of the returning fowl. Apparently the Conservative Party pays its two main spin-doctors £ 500,000 a year. Let’s see them earn their keep.

ND

UPDATE: Michael Crick counted 85 utterances of Britain / British